Continuous printer with means to maintain a moving web laterally taut



Sept. 23, 1969 M. VASILANTONE 3,468,247

CONTINUOUS PRINTER WITH MEANS TO MAINTAIN A MOVING WEB LATERALLY TAUTFiled Dec. 30, 1966 6 Sheets-Sheet l FIGS INVENTOR MICHAEL VAS/LA/VTO/VE5r AT ORNEYS p 1969 M. VASILANTONE 3,468,247

CONTINUOUS PRINTER WITH MEANS T0 MAINTAIN A MOVING WEB LATERALLY TAUTFiled Dec. 30, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 23, 1969 M. VASILANTONECONTINUOUS PRINTER WITH MEANS TO MAINTAIN A MOVING WEB LATEX-(ALLY TAUT3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 30, 1966 at a: w n

United States Patent 3,468.247 CONTINUOUS PRINTER WITH MEANS TO MAIN-TAIN A MOVING WEB LATERALLY TAUT Michael Vasilantone, 401 John St.,Roselle, NJ. 07203 Filed Dec. 30, 1966, Ser. No. 606,373 Int. Cl. B41f/26 US. Cl. 101115 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A wire screenprinting apparatus which includes means for maintaining twolongitudinally oppositely moving webs of textile material laterally tautas insignia are continuously printed thereon. A pair of endlessresilient locking strips circumscribe a plurality of drum printingassemblies located between two platen belts. As each textile is receivedon its respective platen belt, the locking strips engage the textileedges which overhang the said platen belts and wedge them against theedges of the platen belts to stretch them and render them laterallytaut.

This invention relates to a textile printing machine which can imprint amoving web of material passing therethrough.

An objective of the invention is to provide an assembly which willstretch and maintain the moving textile material taut bothlongitudinally and laterally during a continuous printing operation.

Another important objective of the invention is to provide a printingapparatus having an endless belt which acts as a conveyor and a platen.

Another objective of the invention is to provide a printing apparatushaving a single means for both rotating wire printing screens andstretching the textile material.

A further objective of the invention is to provide an apparatus havingmeans which both tautens a moving fabric as it undergoes a multi-colorprinting process and releases it after the full printing process iscompleted.

A still further objective of the invention is to provide an apparatushaving means for simultaneously and continuously stretching and printingtwo different webs of oppositely moving textile material.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent tothose skilled in the art by reference to the following detaileddescription when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the printing apparatus;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a drum printingunit of the printing apparatus;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the drumprinting unit shown in FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of a drum printing unit taken alongthe line 44 of FIGURE 3.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate likeparts, the numeral 10' generally indicates a printing apparatussupported at its ends by legs 12 and along its middle by verticaluprights 14. The printing apparatus generally comprises three levels ofendless belttype assemblies with a platen belt assembly 16 at the lowestelevation, a lock strip printing assembly 18 at an intermediateelevation, and a second platen belt assembly 20 at the highestelevation. The assemblies 16, 18 and 20 are driven by a motor 22. Theassemblies are located such that the clockwise driven platen webassemblies 16 and 20 cooperate with opposite runs of thecounterclockwise driven lock strip printing assembly 18 to tauten andconvey two separate webs of textile material 24 and 26 in oppositedirections therebetween.

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An endless platen 28 consisting of a web of hard but flexible materialsuch as rubber or plastic is disposed about rollers 30 and 32. Therollers 30 and 32 are rotatably secured in the legs 12 and are spacedfar enough apart so that the run of the platen assembly 16 is longerthan the run of the lock strip printing assembly 18. Between the rollers30 and 32, the lower run of the platen 28 is supported by rollers 34which are mounted on the uprights 14. Inwardly facing channels orsiderails 36 are rigidly secured to the uprights 14 opposite the upperrun of the platen 28.

As best seen in FIGURE 2, the siderails have a vertical web 38 providedwith a flange or skirt 40 on its upper end and a flange 42 wider thanthe said skirt on its lower end. A flange extension 44 is oflsetdownwardly and protrudes inwardly from the flange 42 and is rigidlysecured to a table 46. The table 46 is a flat sheet of metal having aseries of longitudinal ribs 48 and provides support for the movingplaten 28 with a minimum of friction.

The upper platen assembly 20 is identical to the lower platen assembly16 except that it is positioned so that its lower run cooperates withthe lock strip printing assembly 18. In other words, it is a mirrorimage of the lower assembly. The assembly includes a web 28' disposedaround rollers 30 and 32, a pair of siderails 36', and a table 46. Theintermediate rollers 50, rotatably mounted on the uprights 14, supportthe upper run of the web 28 on its underside.

The lock strip printing assembly 18 is comprised generally of a parallelpair of endless lock strips 52 of resilient, rubber-like material whichpass over the opposite peripheral edge of end rollers 54 and 56 and aseries of four drum printing units 58.

Each drum printing unit is comprised of a pair of rotatable drums 62over which passes a continuous wire screen 64 of stainless steel. Eachscreen 64 is suitably stencilled to provide the particular patterndesired. The edges 66 of the screen are rolled and extend intoperipheral grooves 60 located on the opposite ends of the drums 62. Therollers 62 of each printing unit are spaced apart and are rotatablysupported by a bracket 68. The bracket is rigidly secured to a verticalleg 70 of a rectangular frame 72. The horizontal legs 74 are rigidlysecured to the outer surfaces of the tables 46 and 46, respectively.

A holder arm 76 is interposed between the rollers 62 of each printingunit and the upper and lower runs of the silk screen 64 and extendshorizontally between rigid connections at the midpoints of the verticallegs 70. Upper and lower roller supports 78 and 80, respectively, areslidably mounted on opposite longitudinal edges of the arm 76 and areresiliently biased outwardly by springs 82.

An ink trough 84 is provided by a cutout portion adjacent the free endof the lower support which extends for substantially the entire lengththereof. The cutout portion opens to the right side as seen in FIGURE 3to provide an ink supply to a lower ink roller 86. An ink trough 88 isprovided by a cutout portion in the free end of the upper support 78directly beneath an upper ink roller 90. Both of the roller supports 78,80 are provided with adjustable squeegees 92 for scraping excess inkfrom the wire screen 64 and recycling it back to the ink trough. To thisend, a flat, inclined collar 94 extends upwardly and outwardly from theink trough 88. The collar serves to catch the excess ink and allow it toflow by gravity back to the trough. Although no collar is necessary onthe bottom support 80, the squeegee must be close enough to the inkroller 86 so that the viscosity of the ink and the rotation of theroller 86 will overcome the force of gravity to recycle the ink back tothe trough. Each ink trough 84 and 88 has its own supply line 96 from asupply tank 98 (FIGURE 2).

Referring now to FIGURE 4, the locking strip can be seen to have arectangular cross-section. The strip 52 frictionally engages the drums62 for driving rotation thereof.

The upper and lower runs of the lock strip 52 are housed within thesiderails 36 and 36. A series of vertical roller bearings 104 and 104'rotatably supported by the upper and lower flanges of the siderails 36and 36, respectively, bear against the lock strip to urge it against theedge of the respective platen belts 28 and 28'.

It is important to note that the length of the upper and lower runs ofthe lock strip 52; that is, the distance between the vertical diametersof the rollers 54 and 56, is shorter than the length of the runs ofupper and lower platen webs 28 and 28 respectively. This is to allow thetextile materials 24 and 26, as they issue from their respective feedbolts 106 and pass through a pair of conventional tensioning rollers108, to be received and centered on the platen webs 28 and 28. Thetextiles 24 and 26 must be wider than the platen belts 28 and 28 so thatedge portions 110 and 110 will overhang the platen belts on both'sides.

The discussion of the operation of the continuous printer will initiallydescribe the printing of the lower textile 24 as it passes from left toright through the apparatus and thereafter describe the printing of theupper textile 26 as it simultaneously passes from right to left.

As the lower textile 24 is received on the lower platen belt 28, it istensioned in a longitudinal direction by the tension rollers 108. Theedges 110 of the textile 24 are engaged by the locking strip 52 as thelocking strip passes around the roller 54. The edges 110 are pulleddownwardly and wedged between the lock strips 52 and the edges of theplaten belt 28 to effect a lateral tensioning of the textile 24. Becauseof the tight fit of the lock strip between the edges of the platen beltand the roller bearings 104 and because the platen belt and lock stripare driven to move at the same lineal speed, the textile will be lockedand tautened for a distance equal to the length of siderails 36. As thetautened textile moves between the stationary table 46 and successivedrum printing units 58, the four ink rollers 86 simultaneously andcontinuously force different colored inks through the lower runs of thewire screens 64. In this manner, the textile receives a continuousmulticolored printing as long as it passes through the apparatus 10.

In a similar mode, the upper textile 26 has its edge portions locked andtautened between the upper run of lock strips 52 and the lower run edgesof the upper platen 28' as the lock strip passes around the roller 56.Again, the platen belt 28 is driven at the same lineal speed as theupper run of the lock strip and as the textile 26 passes between thedrum printing units 58 and the upper table 46, the four ink rollers 90force ink through the upper runs of their respective wire screens 64.

As one skilled in the art will readily understand, the requirement thatthere be no relative movement between the wire screen and the textile inthe immediate printing area is necessary for effective wire screenprinting. The lock strip 52 provides this means because of itsfrictional driving engagement with the drums 62. Since the lineal speedof the screen runs is determined by the lineal speed of the lock stripand since the textiles 24 and 26 are locked therewith to likewise moveat the same lineal speed, the necessary screen-textile stationaryrelation is effected.

In a similar vein, since the tables 46 and 46 act as backstops, theresponse of the platen belts 28 and 28 to the bias of the springs 82through the ink rollers 86 and 90 is advantageously limited.

In summary then, the instant invention achieves by direct and ruggedmeans the tautening of moving textile material in a lateral as well as alongitudinal direction .4 and also the necessary stationary relationshipbetween the moving textile material and the moving wire screen so that acontinuous printing operation between the printing surface and anideally fiat work material is effected.

What is new and therefore desired to be protected by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. An apparatus for continuously placing insignia on moving flexiblematerial comprising a movable platen for receiving said material to beprinted having a lateral width less than that of said material, drivemeans for moving said material over said platen with edge portionsoverlying vertical side surfaces of said platen, printing meansrotatably mounted over said platen for continuously printing saidmaterial as it passes between said platen and said printing means, andresilient strip means mounted adjacent to and for movement with saidplaten for engaging and holding said edge portions against said verticalside surfaces of said platen.

2. The invention as described in claim 1 wherein said printing meanscomprises a plurality of pairs of spaced apart rotatable drums, anendless wire screen mounted to pass around said pair of drums, and inkdistributing means located between said drums for forcing ink throughsaid wire screen onto said material.

3. The invention as described in claim 2 wherein said strip meanscomprises a pair of endless resilient strips frictionally engaged incircumscribing relation about op posite ends of said drums.

4. The invention as described in claim 1 wherein said ink distributingmeans comprises a roller biased against said screen, ink supply meansfor supplying ink to said roller and a resilient squeegee biased againstsaid screen for scraping the excess ink therefrom.

5. The invention as described in claim 1 wherein a second platen isdisposed oppositely from said first platen with respect to said rollers.

6. An apparatus for continuously placing insignia on moving flexiblematerial comprising a raised platen for receiving said material to beprinted having a lateral width less than that of said material, saidplaten comprising a movable endless web of rubber-like material having atop run and a bottom run, drive means for moving said material over saidplaten with edge portions overlying sides of said top run of saidplaten, printing means ro tatably mounted over said platen forcontinuously printing said material as it passes between said top run ofsaid platen and said printing means, a table supporting that portion ofthe top run disposed opposite said printing means, resilient strip meansmounted adjacent said top run of said platen for engaging and holdingsaid edge portions against said top run of said platen and a bearingmeans secured to said table for forcing said strip means against saidtop run.

7. The invention as described in claim 6 wherein said bearing meanscomprises a pair of elongated channel members secured to said tabledisposed parallel to said top run along the edges thereof, said channelmembers opening inwardly and rotatably supporting bearing memberstherein.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,670,337 5/1928 Brackett et a1.226l72 X 2,019,375 10/1935 Wheelwright 101--122 X 2,276,181 3/1942Foster 101122 X 2,359,825 lO/l944 Campbell 101-115 ROBERT E. PALFREY,Primary Examiner CLIFFORD D. CROWDER, Assistant Examiner

